Freedom of Information Policy

It is the policy of the City of Tuscola to provide public access to information and records in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq., hereinafter the “Act.”)

The City of Tuscola is a home-rule municipality of 4,636 citizens, according to the 2020 census. Located in Douglas County in East Central Illinois, the City of Tuscola provides police and fire protection, street and park maintenance, building and electrical inspection, water and sanitary sewer utilities, a tourism office, a municipal library, and a municipal swimming pool. Please see the attached organizational chart for more detailed information.

The City of Tuscola is operated under the Aldermanic-city form of local government, consisting of aldermen elected from each ward on staggered 4 year terms, and a mayor, who is the chief executive officer elected on a 4 year term.  The City Council has appointed members of the community to serve on its various advisory boards.  To view more information about those boards, please view the Boards & Commissions page of this website.

The City has 25 full-time employees, 11 part-time employees, approximately 30 paid-on-call firefighters, and approximately 25 summer-seasonal employees each year. The FY 2024 total operating budget is $13,784,821.

The City of Tuscola maintains public records in accordance with theRecords Retention Schedule (linked below under Other Informational Postings) of records by type and category.  Many public records are available on this website and can be accessed immediately.  Some of those records are available below and include annual budgets, audited financial statements, treasurer's reports and meeting minutes.   Persons unable to access those documents electronically may contact City Hall and a paper copy of the document will be provided to them, subject to the provisions of this policy.  The public may inspect public records of the City of Tuscola at City Hall between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The public may also request information and public records by writing to City Hall, attn: Freedom of Information Officer, at the address above. Written requests may also be made by fax to 217-253-5026 or by electronic mail to info@tuscola.org. Verbal requests may be accepted, but the City reserves the right to require any request to be made in writing. The designated Freedom of Information Officers are City Administrator J. Drew Hoel and City Treasurer Alta Long.

The City may charge a fee of $0.15 per page for copies in excess of 50 black and white, letter or legal sized pages per day. Additionally, the City may charge a fee equal to the actual cost of production of copies in a different size or format or in color, and may also charge a fee equal to the actual cost of the recording medium (disc, diskette, flash drive, etc.) when records are requested and provided in an electronic format. The City may consider requests for waivers or reductions of fees if the request is made in the public interest (if the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial benefit.) 5 ILCS 140/6

The City shall grant or deny a request for access to information or records within 5 business days of receipt of the request, unless the time for response is properly extended under Section 3 (e) of the Act. As an exception to the foregoing, the City shall grant or deny a request for access to information or records made for a commercial purpose within 21 working days.

INFORMATIONAL POSTING  (11/14/2023)

The City of Tuscola City Council approved a tax levy estimate at its regularly scheduled meeting on November 13, 2023.  The proposed tax levy increase for the 2023 tax year, payable 2024 is 4% of the prior year's tax levy extension.   The City Council will consider the ordinance at its meeting on December 11, 2023.  Questions may be directed to City Treasurer, Alta Long, at along@tuscola.org.   The full proposed Ordinance for the Levy and Assessment of Taxes for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2023 and ending April 30, 2023 is available at Tuscola City Hall or for download here:

2023 PROPOSED Tax Levy Ordinance